


You & I

by Lady_Blackwater



Series: BROTHER (The Life and Times of Steve, Bucky, and  Mischka) [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awesome Darcy Lewis, Bonding, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M, Parent Bucky Barnes, Parent Steve Rogers, Song Lyrics, Song fic, Steve Kinda Loves One Direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 04:16:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6223522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Blackwater/pseuds/Lady_Blackwater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daddy-daughter dances are cliche', and Bucky's daughter doesn't necessarily see the point in attending the one at her school until she has the hottest dad on the block as her date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You & I

The second favor comes about a month later when Mischka is sent home from school with a flyer reminder of the upcoming father - daughter dance. Although she'd never been to one, the concept isn't hard for a six year old to grasp, but as her teacher explained it that afternoon, the child felt a mix of glee and confusion.

The glee is brought upon by the idea of Aunt Darcy helping her get dressed up and pretty then showing her whole class that she has two of the greatest dads anyone could ask for.

The confusion is an attribute to figuring out who she was going to ask to take her. Deep down, she'd wanted to ask Steve since Bucky already did so much for her and the last time Steve had been to her school, he was still just Daddy's friend. She wanted to show everyone that Steve's her Daddy, too now.

Technically, he's _not_ , but just because Bucky tells her to not call Steve that - it makes him nervous, he'd said - doesn't deter the stubborn child from thinking otherwise.

Then again, wouldn't it hurt her real father's feelings if she didn't ask him? He'd never been either, and this is the first of a few till she advances to middle school. She could ask him next year?

No, that'd be unfair.

What if Daddy and Steve aren't together this time next year? Then she'd have missed her opportunity.

_It's confusing._

That evening as she sits on the plush rug in Steve's living room, doing her homework - addition and subtraction was the day's lesson - she found difficulty in focusing when Steve and Bucky were lounging on the sofa playing a game of cards in between helping her with the problems. She didn't know why, but she found herself getting extremely nervous and antsy when she'd dig into her backpack and see that decorative flyer sticking out of a folder. What if they saw it? Would she get in trouble for hiding it?

And truthfully, the little girl didn't know why she was hiding it to begin with. It's not a terrible thing if they know about it. They would eventually. Still confused, she passes her homework off to Bucky for him to check for mistakes. While he did so, Mischka pets Carter's head as it lays on her tiny thighs.

"Correct, correct, correct," Bucky murmurs, nodding and highly impressed. "Wow, doll, look at how smart you are. Before you know it you'll be doing my taxes."

She blinks at him, clearly not getting the joke, but that's the least of her problems. Smiling proudly at the compliment anyway, she takes the homework sheet back from Bucky and shimmies it into her folder quickly before either men can get a look at the flyer. Neither of them do, so she continues with her evening with the dance in the back of her mind.

* * *

"Have you gotten a dress for the daddy daughter dance this weekend, Mischka?" Ms. Wanda asks the little girl during a water break during after school dance rehearsals. She hadn't been expected such a question from her dance teacher. Mischka doesn't try to hide her grimace at the mention of the dance because for the passed week since the flyer went home, she's tried her very hardest to forget about it.

"I don't think I'm going, Ms. Wanda," she confesses coyly, watching her tiny frame do spins in the mirror before her and ignoring the concerned look on Wanda's face.

"Why not, sweetheart?"

The little girl shrugs and keeps spinning till Wanda chuckles and reaches out from her split on the ground to stop the girl mid twirl so that they're facing one another. "The pirouettes can wait, little one. Now, what's eating my favorite ballerina?"

"It's stupid."

"No, it's not," she assures her sweetly, getting to her feet and doing arm stretches. "Tell me."

Of the many adults Mischka knows, she trusts Wanda more than most. Maybe it's a female thing? Mischka's not sure, but she just does, so she opens her mouth to explain. "I wanna go to the dance with Stevie, but I don't wanna make my daddy mad by not taking him."

"Stevie," she repeats and nods her head after a quick passing thought. "Ah, your dad's boyfriend?"

She nods. "I love him, and I want him to take me so I can show him off to everyone. But what if my daddy wants to go, too?"

Wanda considers the dilemma for a second and gives her the one other option she hadn't thought of yet. "Why not have them both take you? Technically, it would be nice to invite your real dad, don't you think? And just think, you have two dance partners instead of one, If one gets tired, you can just dance with one."

The little girl hadn't thought of it that way. It seems like a pleasant solution to her problem, but how is it fair for her to bring both of them? How is she supposed to ask? She didn't wanna hurt anyone's feelings...

She sighs and goes back to spinning. "Thank you, Ms. Wanda," she says politely and somehow, her problem remains.

* * *

Dead set on ignoring the dance the following day, Mischka goes about her nightly routine that Friday by curling up with her dad, Steve, and Carter on Steve's couch to watch some _Disney_ movie Bucky'd picked out. It's in the middle of Bucky singing about painting with all the colors of the wind, does she yawn out of boredom and exhaustion from such a hype week at school - the hustle and bustle about the dance had taken over and there was no way of escaping it - and put her arms up blindly for one of them to pick her up and tuck her in. She's already half asleep, not particularly paying attention to whoever does cradle her in their arms to carry her down the hall to her makeshift bedroom. All she can remember before blacking out completely was a gentle, soothing, soothing voice saying goodnight then receiving a kiss to her forehead.

"I love you, Mischka," the voice says adoringly. She nods into the pillow and automatically responds with, "Love you, too, Daddy."

It's the following morning when she awakes to being sandwiched between her father and Steve does she know _something_ is definitely _up_.

"Oh, look who decided to wake up, Stevie!" Bucky exclaims at the sight of her green eyes rolling open then re-shutting at the brightness of Saturday morning burning through the wide open curtains.

"Ah, would'ya look at that, Buck!" Steve teases right back and she practically buries herself under the covers to avoid the sunlight and the horror of whatever this days is going to be. They know something, and of course they're gonna tease her till she squeals. Better than anybody can Bucky and Steve tell whenever something's bothering their baby girl, and no one knows how to torture her about it like them.

She wants to stay hidden in these covers forever. The tickle attack that commences after she groans at their cheeky cheerfulness brings upon reluctant giggles and endless full body twitches of escape. Above her laughter, the two of them are making silly growling noises to accompany how ridiculously fast their fingers are pinching and scratching lightly over the little girl's torso and face.

In an act of surrender, Mischka uncovers herself from the covers and huffs. "I give up," she laughs and involuntarily squirms to have her back resting against the headboard. Bucky and Steve quit and roll over to be laying parallel before her, doe eyed and smiling like she's a princess on her throne.

"Morning, doll," Bucky murmurs and kisses her toes spread towards them. "Sleep okay?"

"Mhm." She nods and returns the smiles. Maybe they didn't suspect anything? Maybe she's cleared for the day. There's no hint of suspicion in Steve's voice when he asks what she wants for breakfast. Like second nature, she blurts out, "Fruit salad and pancakes!"

"Sounds like a plan," he agrees and nods, turning to Bucky then. "You mind walking Carter while I get breakfast started?"

"Sure, babe." Bucky gets to his knees to lean forward and kiss her forehead before doing the same to Steve, rolling off the mattress, with a thumping noise when he lands on his feet to venture down the hallway where Carter's cage is. Left alone with Steve, Mischka scoots back into the comforters and wiggles so that the large man would have room to get under the covers as well. He might as well since he's still in his pajamas - she's already halfway asleep when he takes the invitation and snuggles closer to the child carefully. He gasps aloud when she places her head onto his chest and settles into a cat nap.

"Five more minutes," she promises, dozing off for another hour.

By ten o' clock, the four of their bellies are filled and Mischka is in her attached bathroom, ridding her freshly washed hair of tangles and knots by running a brush through it right after hopping out the bath and putting on undergarments. She's brushing out the last section of her hair when a light knock on the bedroom door interrupts her thoughts and Bucky walks through the threshold. "You out the bath, kid?" He calls out carefully, having a seat at the edge of her bed.

"Yes," she says and finishes brushing. Inspecting her reflection, she nods in satisfaction at the immaculate state of her hair and exits the bathroom, now allowing it to air dry. At the sight of her seemingly oblivious father, she returns his grin and goes to the dresser to assemble an outfit for the day since she's not gonna be dressing up tonight.

"Aunt Darcy called and said she wanted to take you out for a girls's day today," he tells her after watching with admiration at how poise and mature a six year old can make picking out an outfit look. "Y'know like shopping and getting a makeup lesson. Doesn't that sound fun?"

At the mention of Darcy, the child's smile grows wider, and she's nodding with a squeal before she can think twice about the offer. She's kind of like Ms. Wanda in the sense that Darcy is one of those adults in her life that she trusts more than most. Not only does she not have to worry about that ridiculous dance, but she gets to spend the day with Darcy? Today's turning out to be a win-win for everyone all around.

"Perfect," Bucky announces and claps his hands together. "I'll go call her back, okay? You get dressed so you'll be ready by the time she gets here."

"Okay," she says, pulling an ivory knitted sweater from the drawer then searches for a matching skirt and tights. "What're you and Stevie gonna be doing all day while I'm gone?"

Bucky's already halfway out the door when he shrugs with a smirk and replies, "Boy stuff."

Not thinking much of the answer, Mischka just nods to herself and begins to get dressed. She's putting her favorite pearl earrings on when she hears the sound of the apartment door opening, closing, then Darcy's perky voice. Checking her reflection one final time, she excitedly runs out of her room and right into the kitchen where the three adults and golden retriever are. Without preamble, Mischka runs right into Darcy's legs, nearly knocking the woman over with how much force she puts into hugging her.

"Darcy!" She exclaims, squeezing her thigh tight and reaching upwards to be lifted.

"Hi, baby girl! Ready to get away from these nasty boys and have a girls's day?" Darcy teases innocently, giving Steve and Bucky a narrowed glance as she picks the child up to be settled on her wide hips.

Mischka nods and kisses her on the cheek as a greeting before turning to the men and saying, "I am! Daddy doesn't really know how to pick out my clothes."

With a roll of his eyes, Bucky takes his wallet from his back pocket and hands Darcy a credit card. "Go nuts," he tells them sarcastically then puts his wallet away when the older of the girls takes the card to be tucked into her own back pocket, grinning as she does.

"You might regret giving us that kind of permission," she snickers with raised eyebrows. "My college loans might end up getting paid sooner than I'd hoped."

"Hilarious," he groans in mock annoyance then turns to his daughter. "You have fun, alright, doll?"

The nod she gives Bucky is enthusiastic and happy, totally oblivious to the events she's returning to when she and Darcy come home. Little did the child know that she's more clueless than she believes Steve and Bucky are.

* * *

Mischka forgot how much she enjoyed shopping until entering Kings Plaza half an hour later with Darcy's hand in hers, guiding her around the shopping center. Every other store they entered, they left with an outfit or two for the little girl and something minor like a set of earrings for Darcy. The longest time they spent in a store was about an hour and a half when Mischka couldn't decide what pair of sandals she wants for the approaching summer season.

"Did I ever tell you about my wedding?" Darcy suddenly asks in between a bite of her frozen yogurt, flashing the dazzling engagement ring on her ring finger to Mishcka who's eyes are widening at the news and the sight of such a pretty piece of jewelry. "I'm getting married."

"When? To who?!" she exclaims excitedly, loud enough for the whole food court to hear if it weren't already loud enough with the hustle and bustle of other shoppers.

"You remember my boyfriend, Ian? He proposed to me," she explains simply with a shrug. "We haven't decided when yet, but hopefully sometime this year."

Ecstatic for her friend, Mishcka bounces in her seat, completely occupied with the idea of a wedding to care about the outfits she'd just gotten. "Can I come? Oh, please, Darcy? Can I come?" she's asking, hands in the prayer position like she needed to beg for an invitation.

"Well, of course, kid! In fact, I was gonna ask you to be my flower girl."

"Really?"

"Obviously," she says with a convincing smile before tapping her chin with her index finer. "Just _one_ problem."

"What is it?" The little stops bouncing to listen closely at the dilemma.

"Well," Darcy starts casually, smirking as she does. "I haven't picked out a flower girl dress yet. Would you mind helping me find one? You can even take it home till my wedding-"

Before Darcy can even get the rest of her idea, Mischka's on her feet, rushing in the direction of the dress shop with shopping bags flopping when she runs. "Darcy, c'mon!" she calls behind her while Darcy makes just as big of a scene running after the child.

Once inside the dress shop, Mischka rushes to the first rack of wedding dresses she spots and wastes no time trying to get assistance.

"Excuse me," she sweetly calls to the employee behind the register. She lifts her head and her grimace turns to an instant smile at the sight of the such an adorable little girl. She tends to have that affect on people.

"Well, how can I help you ladies today?" she asks more to Mischka than Darcy.

"My Aunt Darcy is getting married, and I'm the flower girl," she explains, gripping Darcy's hand harder. "Do you guys have any flower girl dresses?"

"Oh, well, congrats," the employee says to Darcy then rounds the corner of the cash wrap counter to direct the two of them to the kid's section. "And yes, we do have flower girl dresses! What color were you looking for?" she asks, and Mischka glances up at Darcy for an answer.

"Whatever color you'd like. Even white," she says nonchalantly to them both.

After a moment's thought and the overwhelming abundance of dresses before her, Mischka grins and tells the employee, "I want a white dress."

The one thin Bucky neglected to mention to Darcy before today is that when it comes to dressing up, Mischka is as picky as they come. She pays close attention to detail and never lets a single option go untried which is especially why Darcy is running back and forth from the dressing room to the shopping floor multiple times for approximately thirty minutes with white dress after white dress. If it weren't one thing, it'd be another - _"This one is too long," "I want something sleeveless, Aunt Darcy,"_ or even _"I want ruffles at the bottom."_ The ordeal is enough to convince Darcy that kids are no where in her future.

Thirteen dresses and a frustrated text to Bucky with laughing emojis in response later, Mischka finds a dress she refuses to take off even to go home. It's sleeveless like she wants, pure white, and only missing the ruffles. It's designed the way a wedding dress would be, and with that fact in mind, she gracefully walks towards the mirror on the wall like she would on her wedding day towards the alter.

"Is that the one you want?" Darcy asks, sneaking a quick photo on her phone to send to Bucky and Steve. With a quick nod, a passing thought about what dress she would have worn to the dance tonight flits around in her train of thought.

* * *

The clock reads four when Darcy and Mischka arrive back to Brooklyn Heights.

"Did you girls have a fun day?" Bucky asks as he assists the two of them in putting Mischka's new clothes into her closet and dresser drawers.

In the midst of recalling her day to her father, Mischka picks up something. "Wait," she says, interrupting herself and thinking. "Where's Stevie?"

"Oh, he had to go to his office to something. He said he'll be back soon." Bucky explains, folding a tiny pair of jeans and putting them into the top drawer. "Keep telling Daddy about your day."

Without a second thought to Bucky's answer, she does and raves about her flower girl dress.

"You know what would be really nice?" Darcy says when they empty the last shopping bag. "How 'bout we get you all dolled up so you can look even prettier when you show Stevie your dress?"

That idea excites her to the point of pushing Bucky to his feet so he can leave. "Out, Daddy! You have to wait, too! You can't see me till I'm all pretty!"

"Okay, okay, doll," he laughs, willingly leaving her bedroom with no arguments and his arms up in surrender. "Don't be too long. Steve's gonna be home soon."

"Ya can't rush beauty, kid," Darcy protests from the bathroom as she empties the contents of her makeup bag onto the counter.

Being as though Mischka's only six, it's not much Darcy could do to her face in terms of makeup without it being inappropriate. What she does do has Mischka's curiosity piqued and asking questions in between getting this or that applied to her face. After brushing the girl's already immaculate eyebrows into place with gel, Darcy applies a reasonable amount of mascara to her eyelashes and chuckles when she asks if Darcy's are real.

"There's a lot of stuff you're gonna learn when you get my age," she says when the child gasps at the idea of false eyelashes.

Mischka picks a dusty rose as her blush and a creamy peach lip gloss to finish the look before Darcy starts her hair.

"Stevie braided my hair one time like a crown," she informs Darcy. "Do you think you could do my hair like he did?"

To the best of her abilities, Darcy braids Mischka's according to a picture she pulls up on her phone. The excess hair whispies flying away from the crown are tucked with bobby-pins and barrettes, and even though Darcy's a girl, Stevie did a better job, but she doesn't say anything because it's the act of Darcy trying her hand at it that makes it special.

After pulling on her dress and a pair of white jelly shoes, Mischka exits her bedroom with Darcy's hand in hers as they stride gracefully to the living room where Bucky is.

"How do I look?" she asks. Bucky lifts his head from his phone and gets up from his seat on the coach only to have his breath taken away at the sight of her.

" _Ah_ , Nat," he murmurs to himself and approaches her to inspect the look further. "Baby, you look gorgeous."

"Really?"

"Absolutely," he promises with a nod and takes her other hand with his metal one. "I think Stevie's home. Wanna show him?"

"Yeah!" she exclaims, fighting not to race them to the door.

Across the hall, Bucky knocks once and casually enters Steve's unlocked apartment, leading Darcy and Mischka inside all the while occupying Carter so the animal doesn't jump on the little girl and ruin her dress. "Babe!" he calls out into the seemingly empty apartment and puts a hand up to indicate the girls to stay put while he ventures down the hall leading to Steve's bedroom. In the meantime, Mischka and Darcy pet Carter in a greeting and after a moment, Mischka begins to wonder.

"You think Stevie will like my dress?"

Before Darcy can answer, Steve's voice cuts through he apartment, answering coolly, "I think he loves it."

After turning around, Mischka gasps at what she sees before her.

With a corsage in a plastic container and a smirk on his face, Steve stands there with his short hair slicked back with product, wearing a navy blue suit to match his eyes, and practically swimming the cologne he and Bucky adore so much. He's standing tall and proud while Bucky leans on the wall behind him with his arms crossed over his chest, giving Steve an approving once-over and shooting Darcy a wink when Mischka's eyes widen in realization.

She's never seen Stevie in a suit before, but he sure does looks more handsome than he ever has. "Are you going to Darcy's wedding, too?" she asks hopefully when it all settles in. How could she have been so blind?

"No, sweetie," Bucky chuckles and shakes his head. "Stevie wants to ask you something."

Taking a knee before her, the blond too winks at Darcy and the smirk spreading over his face is contagious and irritating all at the same time. Darcy joins Bucky on the wall and fist bumps him in victory.

"Mischka," he starts confidently and presents the corsage to her. "Would you do the honor in attending the daddy-daughter dance tonight?"

She stares down at him for a second till narrowing her eyes at the three of them suspiciously. "H-how did you guys know?"

"Ms. Wanda told us," Steve admits and shrugs. "And there's nothing particularly subtle about leaving the flyer in your backpack when we help you with your homework and pack your lunch everyday."

She sighs in defeat and mentally curses herself out. That makes sense.

"So, how 'bout it? Go to the dance with me?" he asks again hopefully and just when she's about to say yes, she glances at Bucky who is oddly not showing signs of his feeling being hurt about what's happening. Thinking, she puts a _wait a second_ finger up to Steve and crosses the room to stand before Bucky.

"Will you be mad at me if I go to the dance with Stevie and not you?"

Bucky gets to his knees to meet her at eye level with a soft glare and his hands enveloping hers. "As much as I would've loved to take you, Nat, it was my idea for Steve to ask you. You wanna know why?"

"Why?" she whispers like it's a secret intended for their ears only.

"Because he wanted to take you as much as you wanted to take him. Ms. Wanda told us how worried you were about the dance, so I thought we'd make it easier on you and have him ask you instead of the other way around. Is that okay?"

Relieved for what feels like the first time since that flyer came home, she shakes her head up and down. "Yes, Daddy," she says, reaching forward with delicate fingers to pull him forward by his shirt collar for a kiss on his nose. "I love you."

With a red tint to his cheeks, Bucky kisses her mouth now. "I love you, too, doll. Have fun with Steve, okay?"

The blond steps forward at the sound of his name and extends a hand to Mischka. "So, is that a yes?"

Bucky lightly pushes the child forward to be in Steve's circle, muttering something about being jealous of her having a hot date.

"Yes," she says to him, interlocking their fingers despite the size difference. "Lets go."

* * *

Even though she won't say it aloud out of politeness, Mischka has no problem believing that she has the cutest date out of all the ones she sees tonight. Everyone else's dad is wrinkly and old looking in such a fatherly way while Steve seems to shine with youth and appeal the moment they step hand in hand into the gymnasium. It's only six when they arrive, but the live band is playing something funky and most of the children in attendance are dancing wholeheartedly with no rhythm on the tarp laid on the floor while fathers and chaperones spectate from the corners of the room.

Uncertain on how this would work, Steve bends to talk in her ear above the music.. "Do you wanna go look for your friends?"

She nods and to Steve's surprise, Mischka keeps his hand in hers to pull him in the direction of Ms. Wanda where majority of the girls from her dance team are crowded and dancing. At their approach, Ms. Wanda slyly beams at Steve then gushes over Mischka's dress.

"And don't you look beautiful?" she compliments the little girl, twirling her around to get a full look at the dress. "Wow, Mischka, you clean up nicely. What a lucky date you are," she says to Steve now, playfully hitting his chest.

"I'm the lucky one."

"Stevie, come meet my friends!" Mischka's pulling him again to a cluster of tiny girls all giggling and pointing, making him gulp. Here goes nothing.

He waves to Ms. Wanda and before he knows it, there's five six year old grinning up at him and asking questions before Mischka can even get an introduction out.

"Are you really Mimi's father?"

"You guys don't look alike!"

"Why are you so young?"

"Mimi told us you have a motorcycle - did you ride it here?"

Lucky for Steve, he doesn't have to answer a damn thing when Mischka explains that Steve is her father's partner and he wanted to take her to the dance. t makes a minimal amount of sense to the children, but no judgement is passed when they nod in understanding and stop asking questions. It's almost relieving when they scatter to the dance floor as a flock to dance their hearts out, Steve forgotten.

When he has the chance, he bumps Ms. Wanda with his shoulder and smirks when she turns. "Thanks."

"It's my pleasure."

"Care to dance?"

Eyebrows scrunched, she takes a glance at the wall of awkward dance and takes brief notice that none of them are dancing. "Not falling into line with the other soldiers?"

"Ma'am, I may be a Captain, bit I'm not sure I can follow those orders," he says smoothly. "They look bored. Dance with me."

Wanda is light on her feet, showing Steve a handful of moves that impress him much. Even though he has a few dance tricks up his sleeve, he lets her take control of each move all the while keeping an eye on Mischka. It's during an uppity pop song does he take notice of her and a brunet boy maybe a year older swaying back and forth in an awkward, offbeat dance. His eyebrow raises.

"Who's he?" He asks Wanda, nodding in their direction.

"Oh," she says after catching a quick look keeps dancing. "That's Peter Parker. He's in third grade. Don't know if she told you, but I think she's got a little crush on him. Talks about him a fair amount during rehearsals and gets cutely defensive when the other girls tease her about it."

"Great," Steve says sarcastically.

"Oh, lighten up, Captain. They're babies. Nothing's going to come of it."

He knows Wanda's right, but it doesn't prevent him from going into that protective Daddy mode that Bucky falls into whenever Mischka's involved. He supposes it comes with the territory of being a father figure.

Or rather just a father.

It only occurs to him when Steve travels around the room with Ms. Wanda on his arm, introducing himself then proudly pointing to Mischka when people ask who his daughter is. Conversation comes easier when he talks to other dads and finds himself relating to topics passed around involving having a daughter. Finally comfortable, he introduces himself to some of the girls teachers and happily listen to them praise her. An hour into the dance, Steve's phone buzzes with a text from Bucky.

_**BB:** How's it going?_

Steve types back,  _Pretty well._

_**BB:** Is it too much?_

_Surprisingly not. I'm actually having fun._

_**BB:** I'll wait up, k?_

_Ok baby :)_

Putting his phone away, Steve does a quick sweep of the room to assure everything's going accordingly and that Mischka is okay. Like clockwork, she's approaching him with a hand out to take.

"They're playing my favorite One Direction song," she informs him patiently, taking his hand when he gives it to her. "Dance with me?

Instinctively, Steve turns to the band and sure enough, they're playing a One Direction song that -which shouldn't but does - ignites the inner fanboy in him. Until meeting Bucky and Mischka, he hadn't been up to date with too much pop culture, least of all boy bands that he'll come to secretly obsess over when he was alone. He may have bought a few songs from their albums and did everyday activities like cleaning, going to the gym, and working with their music in his earphones.

"The pleasure would be mine." Any attempts to hide his enthusiasm are aborted when he takes Mischka's hand and leads her to the dance floor along with all the other dads and their daughters joining in for a slow dance.

"On my toes. Just like the Christmas party," he reminds her, taking those tiny hands into his own and securing that she's balanced when they begin to rock back and forth.

_"I figured it out._ _I figured out from black and white..._ _Seconds and hours_ _Maybe we had to take some time..."_

Although the child doesn't remember Natasha, she doesn't feel guilty thanking the heavens that Steve entered her and her father's lives when he did. If she got the opportunity to be with her mother, she'd be grateful since she barely begun to know her but she wouldn't like it if she took Steve's place. More than most things, Mischka loves Steve and enjoys seeing Bucky so happy after her entire lifetime seeing him so gloomy and depressed without his wife.

"Thank you, Stevie," she mumbles, resting her head on his lower abdomen comfortably while humming the song to herself.

_"I know how it goes..._ _I know how it goes from wrong and right._ _Silence and sound..._ _Did they ever hold each other tight, like us?..._ _Did they ever fight, like us?"_

From her naive perspective, it sometimes seems that Bucky loves Steve in a way he didn't Natasha. He doesn't talk about her the way he does Steve; it's different for some reason. She's not sure if it's right or wrong. She just knows she prefers it this way. She didn't need a mother if Steve and Bucky stay together.

_"You and I..._ _We don't want to be like them._ _We can make it 'till the end._ _Nothing can come between y_ _ou and I..._ _Not even the Gods above..._ _Can separate the two of us._ _No, nothing can come between y_ _ou and I..._ _Oh, you and I..."_

If someone asked Steve eight years ago where he'd be now, he probably would've said he'd be dead or on his way to dying. A heartbreak as severe as the one he'd been through is crippling enough for him to believe he'd eventually die from the pain. In no way shape or form would he had ever believed if said someone showed him an image of him slow dancing to One Direction at a daddy-daughter dance with his six year old potential stepdaughter.

_"I figured it out..._ _Saw the mistakes of up and down._ _Meet in the middle..._ _There's always room for common ground..."_

He wouldn't have believed he found someone as amazing as Bucky to give him such an opportunity, either. Eight years ago, Steve would have jumped off his balcony at the mere thought of giving his whole heart to anyone else.

_"I see what it's like..._ _I see what it's like for day and night..._ _Never together c_ _ause they see things in a different light, like us..._ _But they never tried, like us..."_

Now he's here, totally in love with this kid and Bucky Barnes, blissfully happy and content with how much pain and suffering he had to endure to get to this point. "You're welcome, sweetheart," he replies, tucking a fly away hair behind her ear, paying attention to nothing else besides her and the music.

"I love you," he says aloud without preamble, expecting nothing back since the music is louder than average.

"I love you, too," she replies anyway, squeezing him tight around his waist for a hug. He kneels down to lift her, and that's how they spend the remainder of their slow dance. The event ends at nine, but the two of them leave early at eight to share a banana split at Natalia's then ride home back to Brooklyn with their song on repeat.

_You and I_

_We don't want to be like them_  
  
_We can make it 'till the end_  
  
_Nothing can come between_  
  
_You and I_  
  
_Not even the Gods above_  
  
_Can separate the two of us..._

**Author's Note:**

> I really love writing these little short excerpts. If there's any ideas anyone has that you want me to bring to life with these three, please let me know! I'm always open to new ideas and I enjoy hearing from you all. Thanks for reading!


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